F*ck a Major

El's post about Joe Budden got me thinking, why the hell does anyone want to be on a major label anyway? It seems like half the time the label either waters down your album by throwing in the requisite club bangers and ladies records (think Fabolous), releases your joint on the low with no promotion (Method Man, Redman) or simply doesn't release your shit at all because they deem you unmarketable (Budden, half the people Dr. Dre has ever signed.) Meanwhile, artists on Koch are releasing albums with total creative freedom and often getting better promotion than their major label counterparts. And to top it all off they're making up to seven dollars per unit.

I mean at this point, does anyone think Joe Budden is happy that he signed to Def Jam? Dude has a proven fan base (the internet loves him, and if I'm not mistaken his debut even did gold numbers) and yet he's been unable to release anything officially for the last four years. If anything Joey probably wishes Def Jam would drop him already, so he can just do what we all know he's gonna do eventually and sign with Koch. All things considered, it wouldn't be a bad look. As I'm sure I don't have to point out, Jim Jones sold over 300K last year on Koch, despite having no rap skills and looking like a Pakistani convenience store attendant. Meanwhile DJ Khaled pimped three videos (!) out of his first album on Koch, Listennn, and his new single "We Takin' Over" looks like it's gonna seriously blow up his sophomore effort.

Or take Styles P. Dude was signed to rap juggernaut Interscope, and what did it do for him? Time is Money, a candidate for most ironically titled album ever, got pushed back a whopping three years, only to drop with no push from the label and the kind of production one would expect from a third-rate Canibus CD. As a fan of Styles's work, I'm happy dude is now on Koch, because I know they won't make him do a commercial single (which he can't pull off), they'll let him work with producers more fitted to his sound (check this new joint produced by Large Pro), and most importantly they'll release his fucking CD. Nobody's expecting Styles's next full-length to do even Jim Jones numbers, but at 5-7 dollars per unit the Ghost is gonna eat regardless.

The way I see it, fuck major labels. Let them have the Young Jeezys, Rick Rosses and Yung Jocs. I'll be checking for my favorite artists on Koch, where they'll get the respect, money and promotion they deserve.

How did this happen?

My roommate just put me on to the new Rihanna video, "Umbrella," which you can watch below.



I can't say I'm mad at girlfriend's performance (I have never heard bad singing look so good), but I do take issue with the guest "verse" contributed by a certain Def Jam executive. I put "verse" in quotations because I'm not sure Hov's eight bars of mumbled gibberish even merit that title. The guy seems so lazy, depressed, and uninterested in rapping that it's incredible to think that only two years ago he was widely considered the best all-around emcee in the business. I myself argued as much many times, citing his versatility, his inimitable cool, and his unique ability to tread the line between commercial success and artistic integrity. And yet, here he is, limping his way through a verse that would make Juelz Santana cringe.

It's tempting to blame the whole thing on age, as so many have already done, but I'm not sure I'm ready to let Jay off the hook so easy. After all, there are many emcees his age and older who sound hungry as hell anytime they pick up a mic. I mean, if Rakim can absolutely destroy what is basically just a Nike commercial, then there is no excuse for such a poor performance from Jay. Especially on the lead single of an artist under the Def Jam umbrella (pun intended.) I mean, he wants to help sales, right?

More than likely Jay is just burnt out. Which is understandable of course, but then, isn't that why he retired in the first place? In retrospect, he couldn't have picked a better way to go out—classic album, sold-out show at the Garden, the respect and adoration of a public whose hearts skipped a beat every time he jumped on a remix ("Go Crazy," anyone?) But he just had to come back. I guess they all do eventually, but I really think that decision should be motivated by love of the game, not year-end sales quotas. If the love is gone, then homie by all means get on your yacht with your gorgeous woman and just zone out—Lord knows you deserve it. But it's a sad day indeed when the "best rapper alive" gets out-shined by a Covergirl model who sings.

...

That Barbados accent is hot though, huh?

"My Rims So Big, I Fucked My Allignment Up"

As the only contributor to this site from the area affectionately known as The Yay (that's Northern California to all you squares), I'm sure you're all expecting me to put up some retarded post about how E-40 is better than Rakim, or some other dumb shit along those lines. Well my friends, in good time. For now though, I've got bigger fish to fry. Tomorrow will mark 4 weeks since Redman released his sixth solo joint, Red Gone Wild: Thee Album, and I have yet to see this video on MTV Jams. And believe me yo, I watch a lot of that shit. I could understand this lack of exposure if Red was on an indie, but he's on fucking DEF JAM, the biggest hip-hop label in the game. And yet, there has been absolutely no promotion for Red's new album, just like there was no promotion for albums by the Roots and Method Man (also Def Jam artists) last year. So what the fuck is going on? Why does a label that promotes itself as a juggernaut in the industry, and one to which rappers still flock in hopes of commercial success, continue to shit on its most established artists?
Sadly, the only explanation I can come up with is that albums like Red Gone Wild are simply seen as tax write-offs by a company that believes its old roster is unmarketable. I guess we should be happy that the label is at least releasing this shit instead of letting it sit in the vault (whaddup Dre), but it's still pretty damn frustrating. Especially when Def Jam will throw millions into building the careers of people like Young Jeezy and this fat fuck. And then, of course, there's the issue of conflict of interest. Method Man, ?uestlove and LL Cool J have all expressed dissatisfaction with "President Hov," and really no one can blame them. After all, he pushed the painfully bad Kingdom Come to platinum status last year, proving once and for all that the right amount of push will sell anything. So why not do the same for other Def Jam releases?! Shit, well, you tell me. All I can say is that I'm profoundly disappointed with Hov's tenure as Pres, and I think he needs to get the fuck out before he ruins his own career along with Redman's (I mean shit, dude used to be my favorite rapper, and here I am bitching him out.) If Koch records can push Jim Jones to 300,000 plus, there is no excuse for Method Man selling so poorly (He was in the fucking Wu-Tang Clan, for God's sake.) The same goes for Redman, The Roots, and even Ghostface. In this case, we've got to blame the label. And, sadly, Mr. Shawn Carter.

It's not like any of us can really reverse these trends, but I do encourage you to check out Red's new album nonetheless. Yes, that means paying for it. As a longtime fan, I can truly say it's some of his best work, and if you like your rappers to be men of the people--rather than blinged out Black Republicans--you couldn't find a better man. After all, this is how he lives.

Bonus: Great Redman interview from The Onion AV Club.